


Things I see in you

by Kealpos



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Canon Jewish Character, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Gen, Jewish Character, Jewish Jeremy Heere, M/M, Strangers to Lovers, yes michael's boyfriend is named adrien again shut up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-04
Updated: 2017-11-10
Packaged: 2019-01-29 06:32:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12625254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kealpos/pseuds/Kealpos
Summary: Jeremy is semi-famous and also bisexual. Why doesn't anybody believe him? He's not sure, but just to prove them that he is, he does a stupid, stupid thing.Jake gets $9 for every day he fakes this relationship. Not a bad deal.





	1. Sugar Pills

**Author's Note:**

> blurg

“Hello everyone! I’m your host, Delilah Gomez, and welcome back to Star Stalk! Today we have the guest of the lovely Jeremy Heere!”

 

The camera focused on the talking blonde, her voice high and her legs professionally laid across her light pink host chair, her voice drawing out the surname of the boy. Her finger twirled while presenting the name, pointing the finger to her right when it was time for the camera to pan to the nervous boy, who was smiling awkwardly but endearingly, and fiddling with his cuff-links.

 

After the shot of Jeremy, the camera zoomed out so both figures would be in the shot, and Delilah grinned, teeth bright and white, before launching into a very well memorized monologue on why Jeremy was being featured on the show that day.

 

“This charming young man is a rising star, and one of the four main characters in a new movie, based off the New York Time’s best seller book,  _ Multiplayer or Single Player _ , written by a friend of Jeremy’s, Michael Mell. MOSP, as some call it, is about how four adolescents connect through a video game, content to keep their very strong, very real friendship in cyberspace, figuring out how to conquer real life and identity on and offline. When one of the teens goes missing and severs most of the places the friends talk, they have to figure out how to overcome anxiety of dropping the online persona and find the lost friend, finding they don’t remember single player games to be as easy to get through as they were before they had friends.”

 

Jeremy smiled and nodded all while the host talked, thinking back to the long nights he would stay and Michael’s apartment while the other wrote, the time that they cried when the story finally got finalized, edits done, and the day they got to hold a hardcover copy of the book that Michael had been sent, which Michael got tattooed on his ankle. Like a dumbass. But Jeremy had to admit, it looked nice, and he knew Michael probably wasn’t going to regret it.

 

“Jeremy here, ha, plays Simon Wells, a young teen man figuring out how to figure out feelings for one of the friends, feelings about being disconnected, and how much the video game that brought them together meant to him. So, Jeremy, let’s start with the questions.”

 

-

 

The interview topics focused on how Jeremy connected to the feelings of his character, his own High School experience, and video game tips, which wasn’t as important as the others, but Jeremy indulged himself and boasted about his wins against Michael.

 

And then, the conversation turned to love and sexuality, which had Jeremy flushed just thinking about, but he knew was inevitable.

“So, in the story, your character, Simon, develops a crush on his male best friend,  Régis Willman. What’s it like playing a gay teen?” 

 

“Well, um, me and Michael actually interpret Simon as bisexual, which is the same sexuality as me, so not that different. I just add another layer of my experiences. Michael is publicly gay, and with me helping, I think we wrote a strong character arc that isn’t everything about Simon. Because, you know, being LGBT+ is a lot of your identity, and it affects a lot of your life experience, but still isn’t everything. It’s definitely not nothing. But yeah. Easy.”

 

“Oh? You’re bisexual? Well, then do you have any romance with the actor for Régis?”

“N- no! No. Daniel is straight and also has a girlfriend. We’re totally platonic.”

“Mm. Any romantic relationships right now? In the past? Any crushes?”

 

Jeremy chuckled nervously, messing with his  necklace and clearing his throat before launching into his answer.

 

“Well, uh, I had two girlfriends before, and I’m still close with one of my ex’s. Her name is Christine Canigula, and she’s pretty well known in the off-broadway theater community. Me and her; ended on great terms. The first one, the one I don’t keep in contact with was wrecked when her best friend attempted to coerce me into cheating. I wasn’t in a good mental place during that time, and I found myself in a position with that where she kept shoving a flask in my mouth and grinding against me. So, uh, ended badly.”

 

The host had a curious, far off look on her face, clicking her nails on a table next to her chair, before asking, “You say you've only dated women so far?”

 

“Yes.”

“Do you have any male ex’s?”

“N- no?”

“Well, I haven’t heard anything of you dating recently, and if it’s only been girls.. Sorry, but how do you know you’re bisexual, exactly?”

 

Jeremy clammed up, mind rushing for an answer and a realization that he didn’t like this anymore. He wasn’t sure if the question was genuine or just for drama, but he needed to act fast, which is why he stuttered out the big fat lie of, “Beco- because I am dating someone right now. Cute guy, great, but we haven’t really gone over the semi-famous thing. Yeah. I do- I swore I wouldn’t talk about him until we felt ready for it. It being the relationship. Yeah.” And then he coughed, and everything else was a blur.

 

Until he was home, and he recognized he couldn’t remember shit after that “realization”, and also, he was fucked. In like, a three-way. Without lube. And they didn’t stay for aftercare or help clean up any fluids. Short, safer for work version: he was stuck in a messy, painful situation. 

 

-

 

“WHAT THE CUCK YOU GONNA DO BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!”

The loud, energetic, and frankly, a little freaked out voice of Christine Canigula carried out from the phone, Michael in shocked silence, and Jeremy just groaning. Thankfully, he didn’t say a name or give any facts about the fake boyfriend, he found out after watching the finished interviews, but he was still in a bad place. The tabloids were already tearing into the story with their disgusting claws.

 

“I dunno! That’s why I called you two!” Jeremy yelled into the phone before sighing, and Michael spoke up, surprisingly calm. 

 

“Craigslist ad, dude.”

“Michael what the fuck!!!”

“Shut up Christine. It’s a great idea. Hire a fake boyfriend from Craiglist, Jeremy. Simple.”

 

Jeremy frowned, though his friends couldn’t see, already reaching for his laptop.

“How the hell are you so calm, man? And why is a craigslist boyfriend such an easy jump for you to get to after I fuck up this bad?”

 

“Listen. There’s a reason I never talk about the month-long family reunion.”

“Ohhhh my god.”

“Fuck off.”

 

Jeremy pulled up the sight, wincing at his own stupidity, both for making the situation, and one of the ways to resolve it being this. But, he made an ad, Christine ranting about the dangers of this and Michael making witty remarks as he interrupted her.

 

This went on for several minutes until Jeremy placed the ad and texted the link to both of them to inspect. After that, he had to do several changes to the ad until it seemed as safe and professional as you could get when desperately looking for a fake boyfriend to fool tabloids.

 

Christine warned him once more, and then the three parted ways, promising to catch up in public sometime.

 

And Jeremy was left with his thoughts and his ad.

 

Several hours later, Jeremy got an offer.


	2. Blooming Sunflowers in November

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wassup yo and howdy new chapter out

Jeremy sat at the outdoor table, a beanie and sunglasses on, for inconspicuousness. Christine had groaned, saying it was so cliche and not inconspicuous, and Michael just suggested with a cocky grin and twinkle in his eyes, dead set on exasperating Christine, that they add a big Sherlock Holmes coat and a scarf. Michael’s plan 100% worked, getting Christine so totally pissed off, and the two boys laughed for a good minute.

The two had been helping him prepare for his meeting by messing around with outfits and hyping him up before sending him out like a street cat. Except, a street cat about to meet a boy about fake relationships.

Jeremy waited, sipping a hot chocolate the wait staff had presented him with, even if it was the end of August. He checked his phone a few times before finally coming to a conclusion; the guy was late to a meeting where the time restraint had been “around 4:20”.

Jeremy had been contacted with offers a few times over the past week, but the first offer seemed the best, considering the guy actually had links to his social media and his phone number included and was within 28 years of age. Good. The others seemed like scammers or pervs trying to get it on.

Jeremy was just glad he wasn’t famous enough that someone felt the need to leak the ad to tabloids, proving he was a fraud and shaming him so much he had to live under a rock. That would be embarrassing for any future romantic pursuits he wanted to embark on.

Finally, after at least 45 minutes wait, Jeremy spotted the guy from the offer’s pictures, proving he was real. And also, that the pictures had not done justice. Jeremy wished Christine hadn’t vetoed the scarf, feeling his face flush up. He stuck a hand in the air and waved the guy over, pretending his red face wasn’t there or was maybe a sunburn or something.

“Sup, you.. Jake?” Jeremy asked, taking one last look at his phone as the guy sat in front of him, who smiled upon hearing the name.  
“That’s me! You must be Jeremy. Honor to meet you, dude.”

Even though the compliment was small and Jeremy could usually scale admiration like that with a simple ‘thank you’, the guy + flattery just sent him blushing even deeper. Jeremy coughed, clearing his throat and wishing for death, before smiling and returning the praise.

“So, uh, just wanna say, thank you for replying to the ad at all. You were pretty much the only one in my age range. Sorry, that sounds weird, thanking you for just commenting. Gah.”  
“It’s chill. A lot of things a lot of people say are weird, and I don’t really think what you said was any strange at all.”  
“..UHM, yeAh. THanks. So! Let’s start the real offline interview.”

The questions were stuff like acting experience, sexuality, gender, dating experience, why Jake wanted to do this, etc, etc, etc.  
(Played the main role in at least 2 theater productions, pansexual like Jeremy, nonbinary using he/they, a serial dater but more or less committed “at least once I grew out of my teenage years”, and “Just thought it’d be a baller time and help a homie out.” Jeremy’s in love.)

Within half an hour and another cup of hot chocolate, Jake was hired. Jake called his friends. Jeremy called his. They all co-ordinated a time to all meetup. The only ones (besides those who had also responded to the ad) who would know they weren’t actually dating were that small bunch of people. It was fine.

-

It was still fine, but also, really really weird and awkward at first.

The group of 8 (8! 8! That’s the fucking Vriska number!) all decided to meet at an Olive Garden’s, though nobody knew the full extent of information on who was coming.

Jeremy was the second to show up, but he thought he was the first. The group had decided to put the group into his name since ‘Heere’ isn’t that common, but when he went up to put in 8 for Heere, he got told the group had already been reserved by a young lady. And Jeremy was confused. But.. okay, alright. Not that big of a deal.

So he sat down. Calm. Calm. He was very calm. And then he looked around and FUCK NOPE NOT CALM. Sitting there, only a few waiting area spots away from him was one of his ex’s. The one who he didn’t keep in contact with. The one he maybe cheated on, even though he hadn’t consented, and he was such a lightweight that he had ended up stuck under the one girl after only a few forced drinks. Shit, that brought up a lot of memories. What a small world.

Next was Jake. Who. Fucking. Greeted. The. Ex. Fuck.  
Next was Christine. Who also! Greeted the ex! What!  
Then some shortie with a red streak who hi-fived Jake.  
Then a cute girl who didn’t look away from her phone, but greeted Jake.  
Then Michael, who sat next to Jeremy.  
Then. The. Girl. He. Almost sorta but not really. Cheated. With.

Fuck. She also greeted Jake. Shit.

Eventually “Heere for a party of eight” got called, and Jeremy stood up mechanically, not far different from a robot, and hid behind Michael best he could and trailing behind the group, Christine sending him looks as she bit her lip.

When Jeremy slid into his seat, a couple pairs of eyes locked onto him, and the tension shot up almost instantly, while Jeremy just slowly wished to be swallowed by a sinkhole. Only him, though.

Jake, oblivious to the sudden mood, cheerily started into a round of introductions of his friends.

“This is Brooke Lohst, Chloe Valentine, Jenna Rolan, and my home dog, Rich Goranski. And I’m Jake Dillinger. For consistency.”  
Jeremy coughed, and with his eyes looking at the table rather than the others, he stated, “On the left of me is my best friend, Michael Mell, and to the right, my other but not quite Michael best friend (she lightly hit him at that part), Christine Canigula. And, uh, I’m Jeremy Heere.”

Brooke and Chloe looked like they wanted to vomit, and Jenna just kept taking pictures of him. Rich seemed.. Okay, first impression wise. The two at least didn’t know each other already.

The table was silent until Jenna picked up a menu and flipped a couple of pages, causing the rest of the group to scramble for their respective menus.

-

“So, Jerry, how’ve you been?” Brooke asked awkwardly at one point after the waiter had came and taken their drink orders.

Jeremy shook his head, muttering “It’s Jeremy,” before cracking a forced smile.  
“Oh you know, good.. And stuff. Doing a movie. Of. Michael’s book. I told you about Michael back then, right?”

Brooke just looked down, kinda sad and confused, signaling that no, he hadn’t.  
“Mm. Maybe you mentioned him once or twice. I must’ve not remembered or whatever.”

“I- Hm. Actual- Em, actually, you know, now that I think about it, me and him were really pissed off at each other about the whole Eric situation going on right then! And we didn’t hang out much and I didn’t talk about him much. That must be it.”  
Brooke looked up, giggling softly and nodding before clearing her throat and directing a hand to her left.

“Maybe you remember Chloe, Germy?”  
“It’s.. Jeremy. And heh, yeah. How could I forget? You two war- were, one.. some of the more memorable girls in my whole college career.”

Chloe looked over from her conversation with Jenna about how Rich and Michael had met in a drunk makeshift GSA to the two, scoping over Jeremy before her lips twitched down. Chloe offered her hand from across the table for Jeremy to shake, and Chloe jerked him closer with just one arm, inspecting him more thoroughly until she released. Jeremy rolled his shoulder as Chloe seemed to ponder what she was to say next, which ended up being, in a joyful tone, “No offence, but I really forget what I saw in you.”

Jeremy managed a quick, “None taken,” before the waiter had arrived to ask and shame the 8 for their orders.

-

“So, what exactly,” Christine started after they had dug into their entrees for a few silent moments, “does this job include?”

Jeremy swallowed a bite of mac and cheese and made a grab for his drink, shrugging.  
“We hang out in public sometimes and act affectionate, I take him a couple places where we’d be asked about the “relationship”, and then we “break up” after everyone understands that I am in fact bisexual.”

“Wha’ didn’ you jus’ meet a real guh?” Rich asked, his mouth full and he, a fool.  
“I panicked! I honestly didn’t mean to just shit something out like that. Just sorta.. Happened, and I had to back it up!”

“Couldn’t you have just asked Mickel here? He’s gay, right?”  
“Michael. Yes, I am gay, but I do have a boyfriend.”  
“Yeah, I can hear ‘em sometimes,” Jeremy gagged as Michael’s face flushed, smacking him.

Brooke and Christine giggled, Brooke staring intently at Jeremy.  
“You know, I’m kinda sad I never got to meet Michael. You’re guy’s interactions are.. Sweet! Everything best friends should act like!”

Jake rose an eyebrow and finally spoke up in the conversation. “You two know each other?”  
“Oh yeah, Jake, honey. Me and Jessapea (“That’s not even close!”) dated in college after I caught him crying about Eminem. Kinda dumb, but past me found it really endearing for a guy to show any emotion. We broke up after a messy Halloween party incident.”

Jeremy rubbed his neck with a sheepish smile, continuing the story.  
“Yeah, I was in a weird asshole phase. AND I was actually crying about Eminem, but only because the weird dorm cat we had at the time had died and she was named Eminem. We never really made up after Halloween and I have some… bad memories of that night. But we do know each other!”

  
“Well, that’s fun as hell!” Jake exclaimed, clapping his hands together. “It’s a small world!”  
Jeremy chuckled, picking his fork up again to take another bite. “That it is, Jake.”

-

The party of 8 exchanged numbers and Jake set up a big group chat between them to become closer or whatever people do when they text. Jake and his group waved goodbye to Jeremy’s, Jake asking if he should come over sometime before departing. (Jeremy had said it wasn’t necessary for a bit.)

Around halfway of his drive back to his apartment, he got a text (which he checked on a red light! Stay safe with driving, kids) from Chloe Valentine.  
The text said one word, ‘Sorry’, but had implications of there being more at a different time. And Jeremy smiled softly at that; Chloe must’ve changed for the better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was a bitch to revise. the whole dinner scene had a disaster 1st draft. bluegh.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks hmu for docs im writing this in if you wanna see the process and first drafts
> 
> tumblr: @transbrookelohst 
> 
> ily


End file.
